I visited Copita on a Wednesday evening along with 3 other friends of mine. We were promptly seated at our table and asked if we would like anything to drink. The preparation of all their dishes here at Copita is in a wonderful and upscale version, amazing presentation and they all have the true flavor of México, which I know very well because I am from México City.

Among the dishes ordered, we had the Papaya and Sausalito Watercress Salad with Avocado chunks and lots of Queso Oxaca strings and a drizzle of lime juice and sea salt. We also ordered four types of Tacos: The Pork Belly Tacos, the Tacos Al Pastor of marinated Pork Loin in Guajilo Chile, the Cornmeal dusted Fried Oyster Tacos with an exquisite Chile de árbol Tarter Sauce, and the California Kobe Beef Flank steak tacos, where the beef was cooked to perfection, totally tender and juicy that just melts in the mouth served with Chipotle Crème, a complete over the top combination of flavors.

Immediately, we realized Copita was not your average run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex style Mexican restaurant you see all over California and the US. At Copita, they do not serve rice and beans with every plate you order. Rice and beans are not even on the menu! All the dishes served here are true and original recipes and flavors from old México made with the highest quality local organic ingredients available.

One of our ‘Big Plates’ included the Birria de Chivo, a Young Goat Stew, tender and juicy, served with a side cup of the broth of the goat, with chick peas and herbs. This was the most delicious dish I have ever tasted. The Goat was succulent, deep in flavors with mild chile spices and with an incomparable rich taste of a dish extremely well prepared.

The Piece of Resistance came last: The incredible, phenomenal and most fantastic of all Desserts, the Oaxacan Chocolate Milkshake Spiked with Añejo Tequila and Spiced Mexican Wedding Cookies on the side. This is truly a “Drink of The Gods” !!! We actually had to order seconds! – It was Celestial !!!

My experience with Copita has been of a total elation of Mexican food, very authentic and yet modern, their drinks, their hospitality and their service. The quality of food is just fantastic, traditional Mexican elevated to the tenth power of excellence. The atmosphere is vibrant and energetic and everyone seems to be enjoying their food and drinks enormously. The ahh’s and ohh’s of surprise are heard all over the room when a new plate is brought to the tables. The upscale quality of the food at Copital, as well as the detailed preparation of their dishes with those incredible flavors, make this restaurant a great value for your dollar, since you can spend the same amount of money elsewhere and not be anywhere nearly as happy and truly satisfied as you will be at Copita.

Most can’t get behind expensive high-end Mexican cuisine, but if you open that wallet wide then you’ll really enjoy this place. There’s real Mexican food here folks, so don’t expect to see a burrito or chimichanga. There are some things you’ll have to hold on to your sombreros when you see the menu, but it’s all worth it. How can it not be with Joanne Weir as chef? James Beard winner, worked with Alice Waters, enough said. Would I go here every time I have a craving for Mexican food? No, I can get snazzy authentic tacos elsewhere; however I will go back and have others eat authentically! I’m an adventurous eater and have traveled extensively throughout Mexico and my meal transported me back to trips I’ve made to Guadalajara, Morelia and D.F. (Mexico City).

What did I eat? Let’s start with my entrée, young goat birria. Wow that birria! There were three tacos and a small bowl of the birria. This “large entrée” really should’ve been a much larger cazuela of birria with tortillas on the side, but I got over it because that goat was so moist! You know you’re eating goat, which does taste a lot like lamb and not chicken. You almost can’t get more authentic than birria; the only thing that comes close is mole, of course. My birria and the michelada I ordered made me feel as if I was transported to a cocina in Guadalajara. The micheladas here are supposedly secret for lunch and dinner; they evidently offer them only for brunch. They may have said that I can’t get the rajas on the side of my quesadilla, but the papas bravas with fried jalapenos and an avocado crema were perfectly spiced with cumin-arbol chili. I could eat a whole bowl of those potatoes with a Mexican twist! Yes, you have to pay for chips and salsa here. The tomatillo avocado salsa, which tasted like aguacate that you get in Mexico (the original guacamole), was fantastic. Finish off with Mexico’s version of donut holes called bunuelos with coconut flan sauce and all is good with your tummy and your snazzy Mexican meal.

I need to preface this review with the fact that I love tacos. I’m a taco connoisseur, a taconnoisseur, if you will. I even wrote a blog about my hunt for the perfect taco in the Mission. So, take me to a place with tacos, and you can bet that I will order them. And they better be delicious. Thankfully for Copita, they were.

Copita is a technique and ingredient-driven traditional Mexican restaurant co-owned by celebrity chef /writer Joanne Weir. The ingredients are top-notch and the care and attention to traditional flavors are elevated with incredible technique and precision (Weir has brought on executive chef Gonzalo Rivera, who is of Mexican heritage and has worked under Michael Mina). This idea of tradition meets technique can especially be seen in the young goat birria, which is braised to perfection in a smoky chile ancho adobo sauce and served with its natural au jus and handmade tortillas.

Another standout dish is the trio of mini-tamales (tamalitos), which are served with fillings that change with the seasons and prepared with a masa so ethereally light that it could give the Tamale Lady a run for her money. The coctel mixto ceviche is also a bright, beautiful, and refreshing win.

The one downside to Copita is that despite the deliciousness, amazing service, and freshness of the quality ingredients, each dish is priced exactly three dollars too high. The chips and salsa is $4, and the guacamole is $8. That’s $12 for chips, salsa, and guacamole; a bit steep in my opinion. I ordered the lobster and shrimp tacos priced at $17– however it was definitely more of a $13 or $14 portion. The mispricing could be a result of celebrity-chef ownership or the high real estate on Sausalito’s waterfront, but it doesn’t matter: the place was completely packed for dinner on a Saturday night. My advice is to just order a couple extra margaritas and enjoy yourself.

I do plan to visit Copita again when I’m in Sausalito, and would recommend it to anyone who is in the area and looking for a delicious dinner.